The Tawdry Apostrophe (Extended Metaphor) Part 4 Poem by Philip Housiaux

Another case to address is the apostrophe, and the sibilant acting as s:
hence conscience’ sake, no s at all, before or after, our strephein.
OK the /ziz/ has gone itinerant and is out of place
but well known we can choose our friends, but not our family and siblings.
But for nonsense’ sake we must race on.

Now children you’ve been so good - yes ironic humour
for yourselves illustrate the collective noun, treated as the singular.
Of no great renown “the People’s Princess swansong was adultery,
and the children’s disease of trusted dishonour is the ASBO;
but our government’s big busted intelligence services know
their army’s unprincipled WMD is forty five minutes from final soirée.
With youth culture now a fetish, and Dubya certifiable by an MD
what NEDs, Yobs and Neocons need is a (foreign) war of liberation to relish.
Boys and girls, one of life’s simple joys is the nursery rhymes we sow:
a flock of sheep’s vulnerability to a wolf in sheep’s clothing
and riot police’s responsibility to protect peacemaker shepherds - escrow
vile undemocratic extremists and Hutton journalists ex the BBC -
although may surprise that “sexed up” we put in your vocabulary.
But as our dear Lord Curson declaimed while scratching an itch:
power understands as if (central Asian) nations are but a game
and “they”, merely the vast nameless plurals in it -
to our PMs and Presidents, their Great Singulars with individual name.